


Leaps and Bookmarks

by tracingdandelions



Series: Bumbleby Week 2019 [5]
Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-07-08 18:40:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19874245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tracingdandelions/pseuds/tracingdandelions
Summary: Day 5Beacon DaysAlso a quick note!The quote I use here is a slight variation of a quote in Vanity Fair a novel by William Makepeace Thackeray!





	Leaps and Bookmarks

**Author's Note:**

> Wowzers Bowsers, would you look at that! I'm now posting at 2:13 in the afternoon! AND we've made it to day 5! I actually have to work in an hour so no late night posting for me :p. I really liked writing this one and hope all who read it enjoy too! A huge thanks to anyone who stops by to just read a bit, I really appreciate y'all! Keep rocking!

It’s the day after a particularly hard mission and the team is trying to relax from the high tension of the days before. Weiss had retreated to the library to try and catch up on some of the material they had missed. Ruby, following her, had other plans with the stack of board games she had balanced in her arms. Yang had declared a nap and sprawled on her bed making the most of the quiet. Blake was content on her bottom bunk, determined to finish the book in hand.

She’s about a chapter in when she watches a curtain on blonde hair fall over the top bunk, closely followed by her partner’s face. Much more awake than anyone should expect from a person as deep in sleep as she was. The sleep lines creasing the left side of her face. Blake closes her book, and takes a sip of her now cool tea as Yang lowers more of her body over the edge.

“Hey”, She whispers, “You wanna go out with me?”

Blake almost chokes on her tea. Swallowing forcefully, grateful that Yang was preoccupied with not falling as she got down from her precarious position. She composes herself, coughing a few times before replying.

“Uh, what?” Wow Blake… Smooth.

“You know, just a day for the two of us. We haven’t had much time away from the whole team this past week and I could definitely use a break from here”, she gestures broadly to their room, “Plus I really wanted food from that little ramen shop, and thought this would be a good excuse.”

Blake considers it for a moment, the book in her hand awfully tempting. But she looks back up to Yang who’s changed her clothes to a washed out pair of ripped jeans and yellow sweatshirt and can’t help but be drawn out.

“Sure, just give me a minute to change”

She picks out a purple striped sweater and black jeans before turning back to Yang, a look in her eyes that she just can’t place.

“Great!” she exclaims, grabbing a black bomber jacket on her way out, “Do you want to eat first or go exploring?”

Blake shrugs, content in whatever adventure Yang has planned or rather unplanned for them. She quickly questions her decision as Yang grabs her hand and takes off, pulling her along before she catches stride. She catches Yang’s eye, the usual lilac tinted red, as she let’s go of Blake’s hand and surges forward. Blake laughs, Yang’s competitive nature is contagious and she lengthens her stride to catch up. The burn of her lungs a welcome respite from the hours of rest. She’s determined to win, but neither one pulls ahead for long, the other always right behind. The two arrive at the bus stop in a tumble to be first, arms and legs intertwining as they fall, laughing too hard to catch themselves. The bus arrives just as they stand up and dust the stray dirt off their clothes, still breathless from the sprint.

They end up getting off at the shopping district, and wander around looking into stores but deciding not to go in for some absurd reason, such as that mannequin was looking at them funny, or some fabricated rumor about how the clothes were so tight they’d strangle you if you tried them on. Blake’s looking through the window of a large bookstore debating going in when Yang motions her over.

“We should definitely check out that alley”, she says, pointing down a rather seedy looking side street. The pavement cracked and growing various weeds and grasses.

“Uh, Yang, I’m not too sure about that…”

“C’mon, it’ll be fun! I’ll protect you if anything happens,” she replies, a smirk on her face as she grabs Blake’s hand again and tugs her towards the alley. Blake’s nervous as they walk between the buildings, she grips Yang’s hand tighter, and Yang looks back, a reassuring look on her face. The street winds back and forth, small storefronts peeking out from ivy covered buildings. Blake is eyeing an outfit in a window and doesn’t notice when Yang stops until the hand feels resistance. That’s right, we’re still holding hands, she thinks, embarrassed for a moment. She should drop it, but it feels too right, so she doesn’t. Opting, instead, to take a step back to Yang and see what exactly made her stop.

Yang is facing a small shop, the facade a dark red brick, ivy and morning glory vines crawling their way up. The flowers punctuating the wall of green with blues and pinks and purples. The awning a deep green with illegible cursive writing in gold on the front. Blaker wonders what exactly about this building stopped Yang when she looks into the windows and sees row upon row of bookshelves.

“Well, go on!” Yang motions to the front door, painted a crisp white with gold fixtures.

Blake takes the few steps up and enters the shop, a small golden bell announcing their entrance. A small greying woman sits behind the front counter, glasses much too large for her, as she pushes them back to get a look at Blake and Yang. Her face lights up and she walks around the counter welcoming them to Maribelle’s Bookshop.

“Now” she says taking Blake’s hand in her own, “If you have any questions dear, I’ll be happy to answer them!”

Blake is too enthralled with the shelves to notice Yang stay behind, talking to the woman as they watch her scan the spines. She’s almost reverent in her touch as she pulls books from their places. Old and new side by side in an amalgamation of stories. Large hardbacks with yellow pages residing next to new paperbacks, thick with the smell of new books. She takes her time walking the rows, reading the titles of classics and romance, mystery and non-fiction. It feels like home.

She chooses a few books that interest her, as well as the next in a series she’s been reading. Her arms full, she makes her way back to the front, but stops when she hears Yang and the lady talking. She moves behind a bookshelf and peeks around, knowing full well she shouldn’t be listening in, but she can’t help it when she catches her own name.

“So how long have you too been together?”, the woman asks, a small smile on her face.

Yang is turned away from Blake, so she can’t see her face. But she knows her well enough to guess the tinge of pink creeping up her face. She silently chuckles at the thought.

“Oh, we’re not together, we’re just friends… partners at Beacon Academy.” Yang replies, fiddling with the end of a bookmark.

At that the woman nods, her eyes filled with some knowledge that escapes both of them. A silence fills the area and Blake walks out from the stacks, books in hand. The two turning to face her. Yang greets her with a smile, but then turns, refusing to make eye contact for too long. The old woman ringing her up with a twinkle in her eye. Blake pays and Yang scans the small selection of candies she has lined up near the register, before saying her goodbye to the woman and leaving to stand in the street.

“Thank you so much Maribelle” Blake says, smiling.

“Oh, I’m Esther” she replies, a sad smile on her face, “Maribelle passed on a few years ago, always wanted to run a bookshop of her own.” She looks at a small set of photographs, two girls jumping into a lake, a woman blowing out a cake declaring her 30, and finally, two women, their hair grey streaked, standing outside the new front of Maribelle’s bookstore. The taller one resembling Esther, meaning the shorter was more than likely Maribelle. “We are our memories, try to make some good ones.” 

She glances out the window to Yang before taking Blake’s hands into her own again, slipping a small bookmark into them. Blake thanks her again and wishes her well before joining Yang in the street. She smiles as she approaches, the two winding their way back to the main thoroughfare. The rest of the day passes as they order dinner and return back to their dorm, Weiss and Ruby nowhere to be seen. They both change into more comfortable clothes, Yang her signature tank top and shorts combo, while Blake puts on a pair of leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. 

Strangely, Yang sits on her bed, as she settles down with one of her new books.

She scratches the back of her neck, “Would you, uh, mind if I stayed down here for a bit?”

“Go right ahead, I’m just gonna read for a bit”

Yang smiles at the confirmation and stretches out on Blake’s bed, careful not to crowd it’s owner. It’s not long before gentle snores fill the room, Blake smiling to herself as she opens the cover and the bookmark falls out. She had totally forgotten it was there. The background is a light oat color, the words bordered by stacks of books. She reads the navy script quietly to herself.

“It is better to love wisely, no doubt: But to love recklessly is better than to not be able to love at all”

And she knows that this is referring to a love of books. That in choosing a book, you have to consider your own tastes, and not blindly fall into every pretty hardback you see. But as she looks over to Yang, a peaceful expression on her sleeping face, she can’t help but wonder at its original meaning. Yang had always been reckless in her actions, charging headlong into battle, ordering meals way too big for anyone to finish, and always reckless with her love. She gave it to anyone who gave her half a chance. She certainly didn’t have to naivety of Ruby, but there was something in the way that Yang expressed her love that made her heart feel as if it was on the edge of a precipice, waiting to plummet. Maybe, she considers, winding her fingers through Yang’s, eliciting a small smile, it was time to take that reckless leap.


End file.
